As Roz and others have been hammering home on this blog, there is no substitute for superior leadership. Great leaders articulate meaningful goals and create a culture capable of achieves these goals. With this in mind, let’s examine Ogilvy’s quest to recreate the art of selling.  

In today’s New York Times, Stuart Elliott reports that OgilvyOne Worldwide, the ad agency, has created a contest to find “the world’s greatest salesperson.” The goal of this contest is “recreating the noble art of the ka-ching,” according to Rory Sutherland, a vice chairman. Sounds like a laudable goal and a media-worthy stunt. 

It seems to me that the contest ought to seek a sales message that extols the value of the product, makes the buyer feel good about the purchase, and welcomes repeat business in the future. I just bought a car and the salesperson did all these things well. He displayed the attributes generally considered desirable in a salesperson. I was impressed. I will return. Continue reading…